move to North Wales? (Lansdale, Washington: middle-class, houses, school district)

[ajmers]

We have been looking for a suburb of Philly to move to. We both work in the city (old city/ center city) and currently live in Fishtown, but would like more space and not to have to drive on 76 ever again, so looking for something we can commute to on the train.

North Wales borough has some old houses we like. The prices seem too good to be true on some. This seems like a cute borough, walkable to the train, with a decent elementary school and good high school. Anything we should know before pulling the trigger?

[maf763]

It is pretty much as it seems. There are only a few places to eat or shop in the borough that are walkable, but it's a short drive to 309 which has a ton of retail and dining. Prices being too good to be true might have more to do with the houses themselves. Try to get the express train to Center City.

[SE Pa Fanatic]

I've had several clients who raved about the ease of access to their jobs in the city - living in N. Wales. Doesn't sound like you'd be getting rid of the car - just don't want to have to use it to commute - so N. Wales is a good choice to start the look. And - you can expand your search for a place - knowing you can make a short drive to the train station in N. Wales - park and ride to the city, too.

[Angus215]

North Wales is a nice area. The town itself is very small, but it is close to larger Lansdale (which might be another town worth looking into), as well as the big box stores on 309. North Wales Elementary and Middle Schools are very good, and North Penn High School is very highly rated as well. I believe it's about 40 min via train from North Wales to center city.

If you were to look beyond the town itself, it is also a short drive to Ft Washington train station (down 309), which is 30 min to center city.

[JacksonPanther]

I spent about 10 days driving to and from North Wales twice a day so I got to see that town and the surrounding area pretty well. North Wales seems like a very nice middle-class town. I didn't see any blight, no bad parts of town, the entire area looks good. Neighboring Lansdale appears to be a step down so keep that in mind especially if you're looking to live on the border. The schools of North Wales seem to be very highly rated.

Also keep in mind that you will be surrounded by some very expensive towns. I'm talking horse farms, country club, etc. So if it matters to you, know that you won't be at the top of the totem pole. I don't know if people will look down on you as a North Wales resident versus some of the more expensive towns. That doesn't matter to me, but I know some people are very status concious.

[Angus215]

Originally Posted by JacksonPanther

I spent about 10 days driving to and from North Wales twice a day so I got to see that town and the surrounding area pretty well. North Wales seems like a very nice middle-class town. I didn't see any blight, no bad parts of town, the entire area looks good. Neighboring Lansdale appears to be a step down so keep that in mind especially if you're looking to live on the border. The schools of North Wales seem to be very highly rated.

Also keep in mind that you will be surrounded by some very expensive towns. I'm talking horse farms, country club, etc. So if it matters to you, know that you won't be at the top of the totem pole. I don't know if people will look down on you as a North Wales resident versus some of the more expensive towns. That doesn't matter to me, but I know some people are very status concious.

The "North Penn" area (which feeds into the North Penn school district) consists of the boroughs of North Wales, Lansdale, and Hatfield and the townships of Montgomery, Upper Gwynedd, Hatfield, and Towamencin. The entire area ranges from middle class to upper middle class. Nobody is going to look down on someone who lives in North Wales (or any of the other areas), and in fact a significant portion of the area has a North Wales postal address, including portions of Upper Gwynedd and Montgomery Twp.

Now, there are some affluent areas nearby, including portions of Lower Gwynedd / Gwynedd Valley, Blue Bell / Whitpain Twp, and Fort Washington, however even there from my experience it doesn't have a snobby culture at all, certainly not along the lines of what you may find on the Main Line. That entire Route 309 corridor is very nice IMO.